News

Large language models like ChatGPT are part of a long technology continuum driven by Moore’s law, the observation that transistor capacity doubles every two years. To get in on AI’s surging growth, says Munro Partners’ Nick Griffin, investors should focus on the big – and not-so-big – names already poised to come out on top in the “race to shrink”.

The clean-energy transition represents a huge opportunity for investors to earn good returns from investments that have a positive environmental impact – and ethical investors in Australia have particularly good cause for optimism, according to Australian Ethical.

The hits keep coming for the country’s primary stock exchange, which is now under investigation by the corporate regulator for its oversight of the doomed upgrade to its clearing system.

Despite increased volatility emanating from the banking sector, tech stocks have been supported by falling bond yields on fears the global economy could slip into recession this year, with big-name companies leading the gains.

Shifting market dynamics mean some of the investment themes that worked in recent years are set to give way to new opportunities. Man Group’s Andrew Swan and Prime Value’s Richard Ivers recently discussed the promising outlook for Asia and small-cap stocks, where it’s all about fundamentals.

For those planning to invest in offshore assets, the decision whether to hedge currency exposure is an important one as movements in the Australian dollar can either erode or add value to an investment.

Recent buyers of homes are at the greatest risk of negative equity, and the rising interest rate environment increases the likelihood that some homebuyers will default on their loans. With Australia’s large cohort of new homeowners, that could lead to losses for the big banks.

Many supply chain issues have been alleviated in the last year as restrictions eased in the wake of the pandemic, said Alceon’s Phil Green, but labour remains a sticking point.

The ethical investment house believes consumer credit can be positive for society if it is used to buy useful items. But companies like Afterpay focus on impulse purchases that are more likely to push vulnerable Australians into financial over-commitment.

Nearly 58 per cent of actively managed Australian equity general funds failed to beat the S&P/ASX 200 benchmark in 2022 following a difficult H2, a new report says. That’s better than most years.

The US Federal Reserve may have guaranteed deposits at the failed bank, but its collapse constitutes a major scare for private equity managers with outsized technology exposure and is creating stress points in finance systems the world over.

An emerging global supply shortfall and booming demand due to the clean-energy transition are set to support big gains in the price of copper, leaving investors hunting exposure to the few mining projects currently online.